We are new to using our travel trailer and I have a question on charging it before we go out for the weekend. Unfortunately we can not bring our trailer to our home to plug it in because of the cars that park on our street. We have it parked at my husband's place of employment and plug it in for a few hours to charge it enough to run the slide and jack before we get to the campground. We would like to be able to cool the fridge before we leave. We have been told to unplug the battery when we get home on Sunday now but i dont think it will be enough along with a few hours charge to cool the fridge. would a small generator or other charger we could take to the camper early friday mornings be an option? Any ideas would be appreciated.

We run our fridge when underway on propane, plus the tow vehicle charges the RV batteries as we drive. Could you charge up a spare 12 volt battery at your residence and take it to the RV and swap out batteries?

Run the fridge on propane when you cant get 120 volts....Running it on the battery will drain in mere hours. Most modern RVs dont even have the 12volt option anymore, as its pretty much useless unless hooked to a vehicle to charge it.

poncho62 wrote:Run the fridge on propane when you cant get 120 volts....Running it on the battery will drain in mere hours. Most modern RVs dont even have the 12volt option anymore, as its pretty much useless unless hooked to a vehicle to charge it.I have found as long as the battery is ok, running the fridge on 12 volts and propane, even for more than a few days is fine. Running the furnace however drains a battery in one night if it is cold.

Get a charger and bring battery home to fully charge. Hook it back up the day before you leave and turn fridge on propane. We store our batteries in the garage between trips and if a long time between charge them up while they are in the garage.

Why can't you just keep it plugged in? Maybe you could install a solar charger. The idea of bringing the battery home would be the best thing for the battery, but it is a bit of work. Keep in mind that batteries will last longer if kept fully charged. Your putting a bit of charge in it from time to time will shorten the life greatly.

Pre trip charge | Good Sam Community

Sillybugs2
Explorer
Aug 20, 2014
Get a charger and bring battery home to fully charge. Hook it back up the day before you leave and turn fridge on propane. We store our batteries in the garage between trips and if a long time between charge them up while they are in the garage.
Bob_Olallawa
Explorer
Aug 20, 2014
poncho62 wrote:
Run the fridge on propane when you cant get 120 volts....Running it on the battery will drain in mere hours. Most modern RVs dont even have the 12volt option anymore, as its pretty much useless unless hooked to a vehicle to charge it.

I have found as long as the battery is ok, running the fridge on 12 volts and propane, even for more than a few days is fine. Running the furnace however drains a battery in one night if it is cold.
poncho62
Explorer
Aug 20, 2014
Run the fridge on propane when you cant get 120 volts....Running it on the battery will drain in mere hours. Most modern RVs dont even have the 12volt option anymore, as its pretty much useless unless hooked to a vehicle to charge it.
Bull_Rider
Explorer
Aug 20, 2014
We run our fridge when underway on propane, plus the tow vehicle charges the RV batteries as we drive.

Could you charge up a spare 12 volt battery at your residence and take it to the RV and swap out batteries?

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Pre trip charge

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